By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Minutes after UTSA coach Austin Claunch acknowledged on Friday morning that his players will pocket less in financial compensation than any other team in the American Conference this season, news broke on another front.
Third-year UTSA coach Austin Claunch hopes to turn around a program that lost 25 games last season. – Photo by Joe Alexander
The revamped Roadrunners have been picked to finish 13th in the 13-team American.
Nevertheless, the embattled Claunch is a fierce competitor by nature, and so it’s doubtful that he will spend too much time dwelling on payrolls and polls as he forges ahead, leading into the third season of his efforts to reverse the fortunes of a sagging program.
At the same time, he doesn’t sugarcoat the issue of burgeoning payrolls around the nation in Division I basketball, and how it adds to the challenge of turning UTSA into a winner.
Claunch didn’t go into specifics, but he did say that his players will be paid less as a group than any other team in the American.
“We’re down there,” he said. “You know, we’re at the bottom. I’ll tell you this now. We are last. But at this point, I don’t even want to think about that.”
At the moment, Claunch is focused on the present. His revamped Roadrunners are preparing to play three closed scrimmages over the next three weeks leading into a regular season that will commence in the first week of November.
Though the UTSA non-conference schedule hasn’t been released, it appears that the Roadrunners will open on Nov. 2 at San Jose State.
For college basketball programs at large, this is the sixth season since the old amateur system started to change in the wake of challenges in the courts.
Initially, schools permitted athletes to earn compensation for sponsorship deals, better known as name, image and likeness (NIL), in 2021-22. Starting in 2025-26, colleges and universities have started to make direct payments to athletes.
Today, dealing with questions about financial compensation has become as much a part of the job for coaches as how they plan to defend the pick and roll.
Claunch addressed the issue in a meeting with The JB Replay.
“I really like the team we have,” Claunch said. “(Players) have all sacrificed a lot to be here. I mean, that just is what it is. Like, to me, (finance in college basketball) is a separate conversation. We’re not going to make excuses for what we don’t have. At the end of the day, it is what it is.
“It needs to get better if we want the expectation to be consistent championships. That’s the reality. If we want the expectation and the consistent championships then we’ve got to improve certain aspects of our program.”
Coming off a 25-loss season, Claunch said he is also looking to improve his own performance.
“Most importantly, I got to coach better,” he said. “I got to coach better than I did last year with what we have, and I can do that, and this is a group that we really like … They play with an edge. They play with a chip (on the shoulder).
“You know, there’s not going to be any excuse when we line up against somebody that, ‘Hey, they have this or they have that.’ It is what it is … We’re three weeks out. It’s time to go win games, and that’s our expectation. When we line up (to play) our expectation is to go win.”
UTSA has 15 players on its roster, with sophomore guard Dorian Hayes the only returning player from a team that struggled to a 1-17 record in conference last year. The other 14 are newcomers, including four freshman, one from junior college and nine from other Division I programs.
Guards Isaiah Watts, who played last year Maryland, and Isaiah Coleman, from Oklahoma State, bring the most experience from high-major teams. But Claunch is high on some of the others, particularly 6-foot-10 junior college transfer Chinedume Okpukpara.
“He’s been incredible,” Claunch said. “I’ve been really impressed with Chin. One of the hardest workers and most coachable guys I’ve been around. Just has a relentless motor – relentless – which he’s going to need, coming up to this level. It’s much different than what he’s used to.
“But he plays so damn hard that he’s going to make up for a lot of things. He’s kind of set the tone for that unit (of centers and power forwards).”
Guards KJ Tenner (Murray State) and Josiah LeGree (Morehead State) are the team’s primary ballhandlers, Claunch said.
“In our system we have a bunch of guys who handle the ball,” Claunch said. “Obviously KJ and Josiah are guys who are our primary ballhandlers. They’ll play together a lot. They’ll play separate a lot. We’re going to play a lot of guys this year.
“So, KJ very steady. Just honestly an everyday guy. He’s got a great basketball IQ and can really shoot it. You know, changes speeds. Josiah is a great athlete. Can really, really create space with the bounce and create shots for himself and his teammates.
“They’re both elite playmakers and passers. But they kind of do it in different ways.”
Notable
UTSA’s win-loss record in 2025-26 has been adjusted to 4-25, down from 5-25. A spokesman explained that the team is no longer counting a season-opening, non-conference victory over the College of Biblical Studies. “We had an eligibility issue during that game and vacated the win,” the spokesman said. As a result, Claunch’s two-year record at UTSA has been adjusted to 16-44.
The Roadrunners are expected to play their first of three closed scrimmages on Sunday in Odessa. The opponents haven’t been disclosed publicly. Claunch says guard Isaiah Watts (wrist), along with forwards Mike Broxton (concussion) and Ashton Smith (Achilles rehabilitation), won’t play.
Smith, a Houston-area player listed at 6-9 and 265 pounds, said he hopes to be cleared for contact in practices by late October or early November. He suffered a torn Achilles last Dec. 4 while playing for the University of South Dakota.
Though UTSA’s non-conference schedule hasn’t been announced, the Roadrunners are scheduled to play at San Jose State of the Mountain West on Nov. 2. They’re also set to play on Nov. 11 at Seattle. UTSA apparently is slated to host Texas State on Nov. 15. All three UTSA opponents have announced the games on their respective schedules, with Claunch also confirming that those games would be played.
